Printed circuit board cable clip for signal sensitive applications

ABSTRACT

Technologies and implementations for a clip to connect coaxial cables onto a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) is disclosed. The technologies and implementations facilitate improved signal integrity from the cable to various components of the PCBA. Additionally, the technologies and implementations help facilitate management of mechanical variations during connection of the coaxial cable.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/815,283, filed on Mar. 7, 2019, titled PCBA WITHCOAXIAL CABLES CONNECTED VIA SPECIAL CLIPS AND METHODS, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

INFORMATION

Wires are utilized in various technologies. Wires are capable ofcarrying signals (e.g., electrical signal and/or data signal). Somewires may be used in technologies involving sensitive signals such as,but not limited to, healthcare device technologies. One example of ahealthcare device technology may be defibrillator technology.Maintaining integrity of the signals carried by the wires utilized indefibrillator technology may be relevant. Accordingly, wires utilized indefibrillator technology may be employed managing various concerns withthe signal.

An example of wires utilized in defibrillator technology may includewires utilized in wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) systems.Wires utilized in WCD systems may include various structures tofacilitate maintenance of signal integrity. For example, the wiresutilized in WCD systems may include various wires such as, but notlimited to, an electrocardiogram (ECG) cable. Besides a metal wire, anECG cable may include various structures to help facilitate maintenanceof signal integrity such as, but not limited to, a coaxial cable. Oneexample of a structure may include various construction such as, but notlimited to, a triaxial construction. The triaxial construction mayinclude a center conductor (e.g., metal wire), a first insulation layer,an inner shield layer, a second insulation layer, an outer shield, and ajacket. The various layers of the triaxial construction help facilitatemaintenance of signal integrity (e.g., high quality ECG signalmeasurement in a WCD system).

The cable may commonly provide signals to various signal processingelectronic components. The electronic components may be deployed on aprinted circuit board (PCB). Accordingly, the cable may becommunicatively coupled to the PCB to provide the signals to theelectronic components for various processing forming a PCB assembly(PCBA).

The cable may be soldered to the PCB by hand or utilize a relativelylong clip connection for an electrical connection. Both of thesemethodologies may be prone to damage the cable due to heat effects ofthe solder melting through some of the layers of the cable (e.g., innerinsulator layer). Additionally, insulator layers may be relativelysensitive to heat effects due to the dielectric material being selectedto minimizing triboelectric noise, which may be generated during cablemovement. For example, low triboelectric noise materials may haverelatively low thermal softening temperatures, which may make themsusceptible to melting and displacement when heat is applied to theshield layers for soldering. Melting and displacement may result in somemanufacturing defects due to the shield layers either shorting togetheror shorting with the center conductor when excessive heat was appliedcausing the insulation layers to melt and be displaced. Additionally,the process of soldering directly to the PCB pads required manualoperations to spindle up the woven or twisted shield conductors into asingle braid that could be soldered to the pad, which may be very timeconsuming and subject to inconsistencies based on the skill of anassembly operator.

SUMMARY

Described herein are various illustrative apparatus for conductiveclips. Example apparatus may include a cable connecting clip. The cableconnecting clip may include a channel that may be configured to receivea cable having a structure. The channel may be shaped to fit the cable.The cable connecting clip may have a saddle section having a firstflange and a second flange on the opposite sides of the channel. Theflanges may be configured to guide the cable into the channel. Aconnecting pad section may be disposed on the cable connecting clip andmay be configured to couple a conductive layer of the cable to the clip.

The present disclosure also describes a printed circuit board assembly(PCBA) system that may include a cable having a signal conductor and atleast a first conductive layer. The PCBA may include a substrate havingat least a first and second conductive regions. The PCBA may alsoinclude a first conductive clip having a pad section, a saddle section,and a neck section connected between the pad and saddle sections, theneck section being narrower than the pad and saddle sections. Theportion of the cable may be disposed in the saddle section of the firstconductive clip, and a portion of the first conductive layer of thecable is soldered to the saddle section of the first conductive clip.Additionally, the pad section of the first conductive clip is solderedto the first conductive region of the substrate to electrically connectthe portion of the first conductive layer of the cable to the firstconductive region of the substrate, and the signal conductor of theshielding cable is soldered to the second conductive region of thesubstrate.

In some examples, subject matter of the present disclosure may beapplicable to wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) system having aPCBA with clips.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and not intended to be in anyway limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, andfeatures described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in theconcluding portion of the specification. The foregoing and otherfeatures of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent fromthe following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict onlyseveral embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are,therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosurewill be described with additional specificity and detail through use ofthe accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cable connecting clip in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a clip as may be utilized in accordance with variousembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) utilizingmore than one clip, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates one or more clips on a PCBA, in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a clip, in accordance with another embodiment;

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a clip, in accordance with anotherembodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example application of a clip, in accordance withvarious embodiments; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating components of defibrillatordevice, which may be used with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description sets forth various examples along withspecific details to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subjectmatter. It will be understood by those skilled in the art, however, thatclaimed subject matter may be practiced without some or more of thespecific details disclosed herein. Further, in some circumstances,well-known methods, procedures, systems, components and/or circuits havenot been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringclaimed subject matter.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in awide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitlycontemplated and make part of this disclosure.

This disclosure is drawn, inter alia, to apparatus, and systems relatedto a providing an improved cable connection system for a printed circuitboard assembly (PCBA).

Various cables may be utilized in various applications. A cable maycarry various electrical signals. The electrical signals may beprocessed by various electronic components. In order to facilitateprocessing of the electrical signals by the electronic components, thecables may be communicatively coupled to the electronic components byvarious connections. The connections may be facilitated by a connectionof the cable to an electronic component platform such as, but notlimited to, a printed circuit board (PCB). The PCB may have variouscommunicative connections (e.g., electrical lines and/or vias). In turn,the communicative connections may be connected to the electricalcomponents for processing. Accordingly, the manner with which the cableconnects to the PCB may be relevant to signal integrity received by theelectronic components via the cable.

Before turning to the figures, a non-limiting example application of thevarious embodiments of the present disclosure may be described. In thenon-limiting example, a signal communicating cable may be utilized inhealthcare technology such as, but not limited to, defibrillatortechnology, where signal integrity may be relevant (e.g.,noise-sensitivity). An example of a cable utilized in defibrillatortechnology may be a cable utilized in wearable cardioverterdefibrillator (WCD) systems. In order to manage and increase the signalintegrity of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals in WCD applications, cableshaving various structures may be employed. One example of a cablestructure may include a biaxial structure, which may have a centerconductor (e.g., a metal wire), which may typically carry thenoise-sensitive signal (e.g., ECG signal), an insulator layer, which maybe made from dielectric material surrounding the center conductor, aconductive shield (commonly, braid-like), which may surround theinsulator layer, and a final insulator layer, which may surround theconductive shield. Another example of a cable structure may include atriaxial cable structure having a center conductor (e.g., a metal wire),which may typically carry the noise-sensitive signal (e.g., ECG signal),an inner insulator layer, which may be made from dielectric materialsurrounding the center conductor, an inner conductive shield (commonly,braid-like), which may surround the inner insulator layer, an outerconductive shield (commonly, braid-like), which may surround the outerinsulator layer, and a final insulator layer, which may surround theouter conductive shield. The utilization of the structure of the cablemay be based, at least in part, on the application of the cable and thesensitivity of the application to signal noise and/or integrity. For thepurposes of the present non-limiting example, the structure of the cablemay be determined to be triaxial as described above.

Continuing with the non-limiting example of a cable having a triaxialstructure utilized in WCD system applications, at least one end of thecable may be communicatively coupled to a PCB to facilitate processingof the ECG signal to and/or from the cable. In order to communicativelycouple the cable to the PCB, the various layers of the cable may bestripped back to expose the various layers (e.g., center conductor,insulator layers, and conductive shield layers). The stripped back cablemay then be soldered onto the PCB forming a PCB assembly.

In the non-limiting example, a wire connecting clip may be disposed onthe PCB. The clip may be soldered onto the PCB and be a predetermineddistance from a conductive signal pad such as, but not limited to, asubstantially flat landing pad. The clip may be communicatively coupledto various electronic components on the PCB (also referred herein as aPCB assembly or PCBA). The clip may be communicatively coupled to thePBC by being soldered onto one or more signal lines in variousconductive regions of the PCB.

Continuing with the non-limiting example of an ECG cable utilized with aWCD, the stripped back cable (e.g., exposing predetermined lengths ofthe various layers of the structure of the cable) may be disposed intothe clip. The clip may have flanges to guide the cable into a channel ofthe clip substantially seating the cable into the clip. While the cableis soldered to the clip, the clip may facilitate holding of the cable inits position within the channel. The position of the clip may be on thePCB to facilitate accurate placement of the cable.

For example, the center conductor, which may facilitate communication ofa signal (i.e., signal conductor), may be communicatively coupled (e.g.,soldered) to a conductive signal pad such as, but not limited to, a flatlanding pad. The clip may be positioned a predetermined distance fromthe landing pad. The cable may be stripped to expose the various layersof the structure corresponding to the predetermined distance.Accordingly, the stripped cable may be placed into the clip, the cablemay be soldered to the clip, the center conductor may be positioned onthe landing pad, and the center conductor may be soldered to the landingpad. Because the clip may facilitate accurate positioning of the cable(i.e., the various exposed layers), the process of stripping the cable,placement of the cable onto the PCB, and soldering the cable onto thePCB may at least partially or in any combination be substantiallyautomated. Additionally, the clip may help facilitate envelopment of theshield layers with solder without the application of significant amountof force resulting in facilitation of prevention of melting anddisplacement of the insulation layers of the cable. Further, the clipmay have various features, including selection of materials, to helpfacilitate compensation of the mechanical effects of the solderingprocess (e.g., dimensional changes due to heat, heat dissipation, heatisolation controlling the spread of heat to various parts of the cableand its structures, etc.).

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a cable connecting clipin accordance with various embodiments. Shown in FIG. 1, a cableconnecting clip 100 may include a channel 102, a first flange 104, asecond flange 106, and a connecting pad 108. The channel 102 may beconfigured to receive a cable 202 (shown in FIG. 2) with the channel 102having a shape to substantially fit the cable 202. As shown, the firstflange 104 and the second flange 106 may be disposed on opposite sidesof the channel and be configured to guide the cable 202 into the channel102. The connecting pad 108 may be disposed on an end 110 of the channel102. Additionally, the connecting pad 108 may be configured to couple aconductive layer 212 (shown in FIG. 2) of the cable 202 to the clip 100.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, in the example shown in FIG. 1, thechannel 102 may include a thermal mechanical compensating structure 112.The thermal mechanical compensating structure 112 may be in the form ofa slot having a predetermined dimension to manage mechanical stressesthat may be imparted on the clip 100 due to heat from soldering (e.g.,twisting, expansion, swelling, etc.). Additionally, between theconnecting pad 108 and the channel 102, a heat transfer managementstructure 114 may be present. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the heattransfer management structure 114 may in the form of a neck (i.e., anarrow thermal path) between the channel 102 and the connecting pad 108.It should be appreciated that even though the thermal mechanicalcompensating structure 112 and the heat transfer management structure114 may be in the form of a slot and a neck respectively, the thermalmechanical compensating structure 112 and the heat transfer managementstructure 114 may be in a variety of forms and structures. For example,the thermal mechanical compensating structure 112 may be in the form ofa hole, an ellipse, a solid of the same material, a solid of a differentmaterial, a rectangular hole, etc. and any combination thereof.Additionally, the heat transfer management structure 114 may be in avariety of forms such as, but not limited to, a wire, solid material,hybrid material, a gap, etc. and any combination thereof.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, the first flange 104 and the secondflange 106 may substantially form a “V” type shape to guide the cable202, in particular the conductive layer 212 of the cable 202, into thechannel 102. As will be shown, the first flange 104 and the secondflange 106 may form a variety of shapes to help guide the cable 202 intothe channel. Additionally, the first flange 104 and the second flange106 may be configured to help facilitate holding the cable 202 in place.For example, the first flange 104 and the second flange 106 may helpguide the cable 202 into the channel 102 and help to hold the cable 202within the channel 102 by a pinching action on the cable 202. Forexample, the channel 102, the first flange 104, and the second flange106 may collectively act as a clip holding the cable 202 in place duringand after soldering.

It is contemplated within the subject matter of the disclosure that theclip 100 may be made from a variety of material such as, but not limitedto, metals. Some examples of metals may include tin, cadmium, gold,silver, palladium, rhodium, copper, bronze, brass, lead, nickel silver,beryllium copper, carbon steel, low alloy steel, zinc, nickel, aluminum,aluminum bronze, high alloy steels, stainless steel, cast iron,chromium, titanium, tantalum, magnesium, etc., and any combinationthereof. Additionally, the clip may be made of a variety of polymermaterial such as, but not limited to, carbon materials. Some examples ofcarbon materials may include carbon fibers, carbon nanotube fibers,carbon-carbon combinations, carbon-metal combinations, etc., and anycombination thereof.

It should be noted that the clip 100 may also be referred to as aconductive clip, and accordingly, the terms clip and conductive clip maybe used interchangeably. Additionally, the combination of the featuresthe first flange 104, the second flange 106, and the channel 102 may bereferred together as a saddle, and accordingly, the term saddle mayrefer to the combination of features as described.

FIG. 2 illustrates a clip 100 (shown in FIG. 1) as may be utilized inaccordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. In FIG. 2, aprinted circuit board assembly (PCBA) system 200 may include the clip100, which may be disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB) 216. The PCB216 may have a first conductive region 218 and a second conductiveregion 220, where the clip 100 may be disposed on the first conductiveregion 218 of the PCB 216 (i.e., on a substrate of the PBC 216). Asshown, the clip 100 may be configured to receive the cable 202.

The cable 202 may have a predetermined structure as previouslydescribed. In FIG. 2, the cable 202 may be of a coaxial type such as,but not limited to, a triaxial type cable. Accordingly, in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 2, the cable 202 may have a center conductor 204, aninner insulator layer 206, an inner conductive shield 208, an outerinsulator layer 210, an outer conductive shield 212, and a finalinsulator layer 214. As shown in FIG. 2, the cable 202 may be strippedback exposing the various layers 204, 206, 208, 210, and 212. Thelengths of the stripping may be based, at least in part, on theproximate locations of the conductive regions 218 and 220. For example,a portion of the cable 202 (e.g., the outer conductive shield 212) maybe disposed in the saddle section of the conductive clip 100. The outerconductive shield 212 portion may be soldered to the saddle section ofthe clip 100. The pad section 108 (shown in FIG. 1) may be soldered tothe first conductive region 218 of the PCB 216, thereby causing anelectrical connection between the first conductive region 218 of the PCB216 and the outer conductive shield 212 of the cable 202. The centerconductor 204 (i.e., signal conductor) of the cable 202 may be solderedto the second conductive region 220 of the PCB 216.

As shown in FIG. 2, the clip 100 may help to facilitate accurateplacement of the cable 202 in its appropriate position on the PCB 216(e.g., accurately hold the layers 204, 206, 208, 210, and 212 of thecable 202 in their correct positions for proper connection with the PCBA200). Additionally, the clip 100 may help facilitate envelopment of theshield layers 204, 206, 208, 210, and 212 of the cable 202 with solderwithout the application of significant amount of force resulting infacilitation of prevention of melting and displacement of the insulationlayers 204, 206, 208, 210, and 212 of the cable 202. Further, asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1, the clip 100 may have various features(geometric and/or selection of materials) to help facilitatecompensation of the mechanical effects of the soldering process (e.g.,dimensional changes due to heat, heat dissipation, heat isolationcontrolling the spread of heat to various parts of the cable and itsstructures, etc.).

FIG. 3 illustrates a PCBA utilizing more than one clip, in accordancewith various embodiments. In FIG. 3, a PCBA 300 may have a firstconductive region 304 and a second conductive region 306 on the PCB 302.Disposed on the first conductive region 304 may be a first clip 308, andon the second conductive region 306, may be a second clip 310. As shown,the first clip 308 may hold the outer conductive shield 212 of the cable202 in its saddle section. The second clip 310 may hold the innerconductive shield 208 of the cable 202. As previously described, thefirst and second clips 308 and 310 may be soldered via pad sections tothe first and second conductive regions 304 and 306 of the PCB 302.Again, there may be various design desirability that may be relevant tothe number of clips utilized in the PCBA 300 including the previouslydescribed mechanical concerns.

FIG. 4 illustrates one or more clips on a PCBA, in accordance withvarious embodiments. In FIG. 4, the PCBA 400 may include a PCB 402, anddisposed on the PCB 402 may be a first clip 404 and a second clip 406.As shown, the first clip 404 may have a first connecting pad 408, andthe second clip 406 may have a second connecting pad 410. As shown inFIG. 4, the first and second clips 404 and 406 may be oriented with eachother in a variety of manners such as in line with each other (as shown)or opposing each other (as shown in FIG. 3). Accordingly, it iscontemplated within the scope of the claimed subject matter that theclips 404 and 406 may be oriented in a variety of manners on the PCB 402such as, but not limited to various angular orientations (e.g., 90degrees, 45 degrees, etc.).

FIG. 5 illustrates a clip, in accordance with another embodiment. InFIG. 5, a clip 502 may have a first flange 504 and a second flange 506having a geometric feature such as, but not limited to, a cutout 508.The cutout 508 may help to facilitate improved soldering of the cableincluding facilitating automation. The cutout may have a variety ofshapes and sizes based, at least in part, on the mechanical concerns ofthis area of the saddle section. Additionally, the cutout may helpfacilitate compensation of mechanical stresses and/or issues as someexamples have been described previously.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a clip, in accordance with anotherembodiment. Shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a clip 602 may be in the form of abracket having a curved channel 604 configured to accommodate a cable608, and a solder hole 606. The curved channel 604 may be shaped to holda section of the cable 608. The solder hole 606 may facilitate placementof a solder 610 to hold the cable 608 in place and conductively connectthe cable to a PCB 612.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example application of a clip, in accordance withvarious embodiments. In FIG. 7, a wearable cardioverter defibrillator(WCD) system 700 is shown.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating components of a defibrillatordevice, which may be used with various embodiments. These components maybe, for example, a WCD 700 (shown in FIG. 7).

The defibrillator device 800 may be intended for use by a user 880(e.g., a wearer). The defibrillator device 800 may typically include adefibrillation port 810, such as a socket in housing 801. Thedefibrillation port 810 may include nodes 814 and 818. One or moreelectrodes 804 and 808, which may be plugged into the defibrillationport 810, so as to make electrical contact with nodes 814 and 818,respectively. It may also be possible that the electrodes 804 and 808may be connected continuously to the defibrillation port 810, etc.Either way, the defibrillation port 810 may be used for guiding via theelectrodes 804 and 808 to a person (see FIG. 7) an electrical chargethat may have been stored in the defibrillator device 800, as describedherein.

The defibrillator device 800 may also have an ECG port 819 in thehousing 801, for receiving ECG cables 809. The ECG cables 809 mayfacilitate sensing of an ECG signal (e.g., a 12-lead signal or from adifferent number of lead signals). Moreover, a defibrillator-monitorcould have additional ports (not shown), and the other component 825 maybe configured to filter the ECG signal (e.g., application of at leastone filter to the signal to help facilitate removal of artifacts suchas, but not limited to, chest compression due to chest compressionsbeing delivered to the person).

The defibrillator 800 also may include a measurement circuit 820. Themeasurement circuit 820 may receive physiological signals from the ECGport 819, and also from other ports, if provided. The circuit 820 mayrender detected physiological signals and their correspondinginformation. The information may be in the form of data, or othersignals, etc.

If the defibrillator 800 is configured as a WCD type device, ECG port819 may not be present. The measurement circuit 820 may obtainphysiological signals through the nodes 814 and 818 instead, when theelectrodes 804 and 808 are attached to the person (see FIG. 7). In thesecases, a person's ECG signal may be detected as a voltage differencebetween the electrodes 804 and 808. Additionally, the impedance betweenthe electrodes 804 and 808 may be detected, among other things, whetherthe electrodes 804 and 808 have been inadvertently disconnected from theperson.

The defibrillator 800 may also include a processor 830. The processor830 may be implemented in a wide variety of manners for causing actionsand operations to be performed. Some examples may include digital and/oranalog processors such as microprocessors and digital-signal processors(DSPs), controllers such as microcontrollers, software running in amachine environment, programmable circuits such as Field ProgrammableGate Arrays (FPGAs), Field-Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAAs),Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Application Specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), and so on or any combination thereof.

The processor 830 may include a number of modules. One example modulemay be a detection module 832, which may detect outputs from themeasurement circuit 820. The detection module 832 may include a VFdetector. Accordingly, the person's detected ECG may be utilized to helpdetermine whether the person is experiencing ventricular fibrillation(VF).

In another example module may be an advice module 834, which may provideadvice based, at least in part, on outputs of detection module 832. Theadvice module 834 may include an algorithm such as, but not limited to,Shock Advisory Algorithm, implement decision rules, and so on. Forexample, the advice may be to shock, to not shock, to administer otherforms of therapy, and so on. If the advice is to shock, somedefibrillator examples may report the advice to the user, and promptthem to do it. In other examples, the defibrillator device may executethe advice by administering the shock. If the advice is to administerCPR, the defibrillator 800 may further issue prompts for administratingCPR, and so forth.

The processor 830 may include additional modules, such as module 836 forvarious other functions. Additionally, if other component 825 isprovided, it may be operated in part by processor 830, etc.

In an example, the defibrillator device 800 may include a memory 838,which may work together with the processor 830. The memory 838 may beimplemented in a wide variety of manners. For example, the memory 838may be implemented such as, but not limited to, nonvolatile memories(NVM), read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), and soforth or any combination thereof. The memory 838 may can includeprograms for the processor 830, and so on. The programs may includeoperational programs execution by the processor 830 and may also includeprotocols and methodologies that decisions may be made by advice module834. Additionally, the memory 838 may store various prompts for the user880, etc. Moreover, the memory 838 may store a wide variety ofinformation (i.e., data) such as, but not limited to informationregarding the person.

The defibrillator 800 may also include a power source 840. In order tofacilitate portability of defibrillator device 800, the power source 840may include a battery type device. A battery type device may beimplemented as a battery pack, which may be rechargeable or not berechargeable. At times, a combination of rechargeable andnon-rechargeable battery packs may be utilized. Examples of power source840 may include AC power override, where AC power may be available, andso on. In some examples, the processor 830 may control the power source840.

Additionally, the defibrillator device 800 may include an energy storagemodule 850. The energy storage module 850 may be configured to storesome electrical energy (e.g., when preparing for sudden discharge toadminister a shock). The energy storage module 850 may be charged fromthe power source 840 to an appropriate level of energy, as may becontrolled by the processor 830. In some implementations, the energystorage module 850 may include one or more capacitors 852, and the like.

The defibrillator 800 may include a discharge circuit 855. The dischargecircuit 855 may be controlled to facilitate discharging of the energystored in energy storage module 850 to the nodes 814 and 818, and alsoto electrodes 804 and 808. The discharge circuit 855 may include one ormore switches 857. The one or more switches 857 may be configured in anumber of manners such as, but not limited to, an H-bridge, and soforth.

The defibrillator device 800 may further include a user interface 870for the user 880. The user interface 870 may be implemented in a varietyof manners. For example, the user interface 870 may include a displayscreen capable of displaying what is detected and measured, providevisual feedback to the user 880 for their resuscitation attempts, and soforth. The user interface 870 may also include an audio output such as,but not limited to, a speaker to issue audio prompts, etc. The userinterface 870 may additionally include various control devices such as,but not limited to, pushbuttons, touch display, and so forth.Additionally, the discharge circuit 855 may be controlled by theprocessor 830 or directly by the user 880 via the user interface 870,and so forth.

Additionally, the defibrillator device 800 may include other components.For example, a communication module 890 may be provided forcommunicating with other machines and/or the electrodes. Suchcommunication may be performed wirelessly, or via wire, or by infraredcommunication, and so forth. Accordingly, information may becommunicated, such as person data, incident information, therapyattempted, CPR performance, ECG information, and so forth.

It should be appreciated that it is contemplated within the scope andspirit of the present disclosure that the claimed subject matter mayinclude a wide variety of clips, materials, mechanical shapes, etc.Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is not limited in theserespects.

In some portions of the description, illustrative implementations of thedisclosure may have been described with reference to the elements of thecomponents described with respect to FIGS. 1-8. However, the describedembodiments are not limited to these depictions. More specifically, someelements/components depicted in FIGS. 1-8 may be omitted from someimplementations detailed herein. Furthermore, other elements notdepicted in FIGS. 1-8 may be used to implement example apparatusesdetailed herein.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

Reference in the specification to “an implementation,” “oneimplementation,” “some implementations,” or “other implementations” maymean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with one or more implementations may be included in atleast some implementations, but not necessarily in all implementations.The various appearances of “an implementation,” “one implementation,” or“some implementations” in the preceding description are not necessarilyall referring to the same implementations.

While certain exemplary techniques have been described and shown hereinusing various methods and systems, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various other modifications may be made, andequivalents may be substituted, without departing from claimed subjectmatter. Additionally, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation to the teachings of claimed subject matter withoutdeparting from the central concept described herein. Therefore, it isintended that claimed subject matter not be limited to the particularexamples disclosed, but that such claimed subject matter also mayinclude all implementations falling within the scope of the appendedclaims, and equivalents thereof.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A cable connecting clip included in a wearablecardioverter defibrillator (WCD), the cable connecting clip comprising:a channel configured to receive an electrode cable being of apredetermined structure, the channel having a shape to substantially fitthe electrode cable; a first flange and a second flange disposed onopposite sides of the channel, the first flange and the second flangeconfigured to guide the electrode cable into the channel; and aconnecting pad disposed on an end of the channel, the connecting padconfigured to couple a conductive layer of the electrode cable to thecable connecting clip to communicatively couple the electrode cable withthe WCD.
 12. The cable connecting clip of claim 11, wherein the channelcomprises a thermal mechanical compensating structure.
 13. The cableconnecting clip of claim 12, wherein the thermal mechanical compensatingstructure comprises a slot, the slot having a predetermined dimension tocompensate for thermal mechanical changes of the cable connecting clip.14. The cable connecting clip of claim 11, wherein the first flange andthe second flange comprise the first flange and the second flangeforming a substantially “V” type shape to guide the electrode cable intothe channel.
 15. The cable connecting clip of claim 11, wherein theconnecting pad comprises a thermal conductivity control path.
 16. Thecable connecting clip of claim 15, wherein the thermal conductivitycontrol path comprises a neck section between the connecting pad and thechannel.
 17. The cable connecting clip of claim 11, wherein theelectrode cable comprises a center conductor, a first insulating layer,an inner shield layer, a second insulating layer, an outer shield layer,and a jacketing layer.
 18. A printed circuit board assembly (PCBA)system included in a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD)comprising: an electrode cable having a signal conductor and a firstconductive layer; a substrate having a first conductive region and asecond conductive region; and a first conductive clip having a padsection, a saddle section, and a neck section disposed between the padsection and the saddle section, the neck section being narrower than thepad section and the saddle sections, wherein: a first portion of theelectrode cable is disposed in the saddle section of the firstconductive clip; a portion of the first conductive layer of theelectrode cable being soldered to the saddle section of the firstconductive clip, the pad section of the first conductive clip beingsoldered to the first conductive region of the substrate to electricallycouple the portion of the first conductive layer of the electrode cableto the first conductive region of the substrate, and the signalconductor of the electrode cable being soldered to the second conductiveregion of the substrate.
 19. The PCBA system of claim 18 furthercomprising a second conductive clip having a pad section, a saddlesection, and a neck section disposed between the pad section and saddlesection, wherein: a second portion of the electrode cable is disposed inthe saddle section of the second conductive clip, the electrode cablecomprises a second conductive layer, wherein a portion of the secondconductive layer of the electrode cable being soldered to the saddlesection of the second conductive clip, and the pad section of the secondconductive clip being soldered to the second conductive region of thesubstrate to electrically couple the portion of the second conductivelayer of the electrode cable to the second conductive region of thesubstrate.